A critique paper on the study A Remote PC Shutdown Software Using the Yahoo!

Messenger Messaging System

Monique Leah E. Cagatin BSChE 4 / ACE 08 A student Critique

January 26, 2012

The study I chose to critique is entitled A Remote PC Shutdown Software Using the Yahoo! Messenger Messaging System by Cutamora, Espina, and Suan who were former students of the Computer Science department. As their title suggested, the proponents aimed to develop a software that would have control over the use of personal computers even when the owner is away from it. The statement of the problem was clear and concise. Upon reading the statement of the problem, one is guided what to expect if you read further. The developers specifically cited Yahoo! Messenger as the program used in conjunction with the software they developed which will send the computer status to the owner of the computer. This indicates that the problem was narrowed down and is concise. The presentation of the review of related literature was logically organized. The definition of Yahoo! Messenger was first discussed followed by the discussion of Remote Desktop Connection. The developers then cited the EasyCafe program used by internet shops that used the same method of controlling ones access to the shops computers. They ended their review of related literature by stating that the software they developed is more advantageous compared to EasyCafe and Remote Desktop Connection because it is not time-constrained and the user has full control over his files on his remote computer. On the other hand, there were no mentions on any other related studies, and a typographical error was also spotted in this part of the journal. Although the research design presented in the journal was brief, it was able to adequately describe the procedures and framework of the study. The research design presented was also very appropriate for the study.

The

developers

did

mention

some

tests

that

were

conducted,

like

Connectivity/Networking Testing, White-Box Testing, Black-Box Testing, and Acceptance Testing, but they failed to define these tests and didnt even show in the journal the results of these testing. After testing and verifying the functionality of the developed software, the developers conducted a survey to thirty (30) beta testers to evaluate the ease of use, effectivity, usefulness, and user-satisfaction towards their software. The developers failed to state how the 30 testers were chosen and if the 30 testers were really representatives of defined populations. Tables or graphs to summarize the result of the survey were not shown also. The developers were able to present in this journal the things that could have hindered the success of their software. It was mentioned that they were able to edit the APIs a lot of times because of the constant update Yahoo! Messenger does on its program. Overall, the things presented in the journal were enough for the readers to visualize and understand what the study was about, but the presentation could have been improved. There were some technical terms which should have been briefly defined in order for those who are not experts in computer science to understand what the statement is about. Even though I was able to give negative comments on their work, I still find their study very interesting and useful. With the software they developed, privacy over our personal computers will be established. I appreciate how the developers value privacy which was manifested when they did not opt into hacking to control others use of the users personal computer.